Uptime Institute Awards Its 1000th Certification

Tier Certifications more than triple in the past 5 years, enabling data center operators across the globe to increase data center efficiency and performance

Seattle, WA, June 27, 2017 – Uptime Institute today announced the company has completed its 1000th certification and is experiencing substantial growth in all geographies worldwide. Over the past five years, Tier certifications have more than tripled, reflecting the global industry demand for predictable levels of performance that can only be achieved through an impartial assessment of the design, construction, overall efficiency, and operational reliability of business-critical infrastructure.

“The data center industry has changed dramatically over the past few years. As the world becomes increasingly digital-centric, organizations want to treat data centers as a utility with guaranteed levels of performance and capacity,” said Lee Kirby, president of Uptime Institute. “The Tier Standard continues to be the most recognized and adopted standard for assessing mission critical infrastructure. Its focus on price vs. performance enables organizations to align their IT costs structures with their business service delivery strategies. Our freely available Tier Standards and the associated Operating Standards we publish enable organizations to directly support their business growth through better design, construction, maintenance and optimization of their data center facilities.”

Uptime Institute’s Tier Standard is the industry’s de facto standard for data center performance and reliability. Based on performance objectives and behaviors, Uptime Institute’s Tier Standard is timeless and is designed to be flexible in approach and adaptable to the latest technologies and economics. Additionally, Uptime Institute continuously expands its business services assessment portfolio, introducing new programs like Management and Operations (M&O) reviews and the Efficient IT Stamp of Approval. Rather than specifying specific technologies or rigid design requirements and operational processes, the Uptime Institute portfolio of offerings are objective-based, which means each solution accommodates new technologies and innovative approaches to data center design, build and operations to make them highly efficient and predictable.

“Our intention has always been to make the Tier Standards flexible and adaptable to any new technology that presented itself. So, it’s gratifying to see them accelerate the adoption of technology advancements and major shifts in computing approaches within the data center industry,” said Pitt Turner, Global Executive of the Uptime Institute Networks and one of the original authors of the Tier Standards. “Uptime Institute has been certifying data centers for more than 10 years in more than 85 countries. There’s a reason we’ve reached 1000 certifications of data centers on their expected performance and why that number will continue to grow. Uptime Institute provides unbiased vendor neutrality and global consistency administered by our teams of professional engineers located in every major geography around the planet. We have the sheer depth of data center experience needed at any scale to ensure that the industry can design, build and manage the most reliable IT infrastructures today.”

FORTRUST, a Denver-based data center solutions provider, operates a colocation facility that holds a Tier III Certification of Constructed Facility and has achieved Tier III Gold Certification of Operational Sustainability. “We’ve experienced firsthand how Uptime Institute’s Tier Standards and operational assessments can be a major competitive differentiator for us, increasing the value of our services for our customers and reducing our costs to deliver them,” said Robert McClary, chief operating officer of FORTRUST. “The certification process and risk mitigation work we’ve undertaken has dramatically improved our facility’s performance, efficiency and reliability. In fact, we even lowered the risks associated with downtime so significantly that our insurance provider reduced our policy premiums by more than 10 percent.”

Uptime Institute continues to expand with the addition of new teams of professional engineering practitioners located in all major regions, along with adding two key senior executives to keep up with client demand. Key new hires include Matt Thoene, senior vice president, global operations and Mark Harris, senior vice president of marketing. Both individuals bring to the organization extensive data center and IT Infrastructure experience along with their core sales and marketing expertise.

About Uptime Institute
Uptime Institute is an unbiased advisory organization focused on improving the performance, efficiency, and reliability of business critical infrastructure through innovation, collaboration, and independent certifications. Uptime Institute serves all stakeholders responsible for IT service availability through industry leading standards, education, peer-to-peer networking, consulting, and award programs delivered to enterprise organizations and third-party operators, manufacturers, and providers. Uptime Institute is recognized globally for the creation and administration of the Tier Standards & Certifications for Data Center Design, Construction, and Operational Sustainability along with its Management & Operations reviews, FORCSS^® methodology, and Efficient IT Stamp of Approval.

Uptime Institute ­­– The Global Data Center Authority^®, a division of The 451 Group, has office locations in the U.S., Mexico, Costa Rica, Brazil, U.K., Spain, U.A.E., Russia, Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia.